Shinobi Outlaw
by Centurion25
Summary: In the time between The Last and Ch. 700 Sasuke Uchiha has been pardoned but still has yet to prove his value to and be accepted into Konoha. Instead Taka works in the shadows of the ninja world to eliminate threats outside of the Leaf's reach. Unfortunately, just such clandestine ninja are needed to infiltrate an underground tournament and rescue a fellow member of Team 7.
1. Chapter 1

The wind blew gently on this sunny day in the Fire Nation, the grass of the open plain uneven and natural compared to the training grounds in Konoha. It was everyone's favorite time of year and all but guaranteed that every ninja in the village that was not away on a mission would be taking advantage of the weather by training. Yet, for a certain raven-haired ninja the usual haunts would be impossible to reach and as such his sparring partner would have to meet him out in the wilds. It was for that reason he had traveled to thirty minutes outside of the city's gates in order to find the clearing he now stood in, scouring the tree line for a certain blond ninja. His eyes stopped when there was a rustle and he focused on the signs of movement within the darkness beneath the forest canopy.

"You're late, dobe." called the annoyed sounding shinobi, his hand reaching up to bush a few stray hairs away from his eyes as an orange blur burst from the branches.

"Shut up Sasuke-teme!" was the new arrival's reply once he touched down. Standing up he was unmistakeable, his spiky blond hair almost as iconic as the black and orange jumpsuit he wore beneath his new red and orange overcoat.

The spiral symbol of the Hidden Leaf Village was not only carved onto the forehead protector he so valued but was also stitched into the front of the new coat in the same deep orange which made up the flames lining its bottom hem. This was the new Naruto Uzumaki, the legend of Konoha and hero of the Fourth Shinobi World War just three years ago.

Sasuke meanwhile simply stood there and grinned in response as his best friend strode over with a raised fist. He too crossed the distance between them and bumped his fist with Naruto's before they made their way to the opposite side of the field and turned to face each other.

With a quick pull he threw off his own long black cloak so that he stood wearing his navy blue shirt which was high collared in the Uchiha fashion and yet had a deep V-neck. A mesh armor shirt peeked out from underneath and though bandages ran down from the sleeves and under the arm guards which armored the backs of his forearms. His long black pants ruffled slightly as he walked and a quick rush of wind blew at the back of the long crimson sash which acted as a belt, the tightly fastened material refusing to loosen it's grip on the chokutō behind him.

They were polar opposites and as much as it said about their relationship he would not want it any other way.

"How do you wanna do this Sasuke?" Naruto asked, stretching his arms behind his head before finishing with "Taijutsu?"

"I'm not like you dope. My taijutsu doesn't need practice."

"Ya well let's see how you do against six of me."

Sasuke's lips curled into a grin as he coolly replied "Make it a challenge."

They smiled at each other for a minute, the grass being the only thing which moved between them, before Naruto suddenly crossed each of his fore and middle fingers. Six Shadow Clones burst into existence in front of him. They ran forward before the smoke even cleared and formed a wide circle around the dark clothed shinobi before taking up his usual combat stance.

"This should be interesting."

"Dattebayo!" the clones yelled in unison as they suddenly charged at the unfazed Uchiha.

In a fluid movement Sasuke deflected a fist, spun around it as it flew past him, and connected his elbow with a whiskered cheek. He used the smoke of the dispersed clone to cover his movement, sidestepped a reckless sweeping kick, and in a flash appeared behind the attacking clone. With a powerful sideways kick the already off balance clone was sent flying and crashed into a tree trunk where it too became nothing but a cloud of smoke.

The other four were more difficult as they rushed him in teams, each pair taking turns to attack each of his flanks. With quick and conservative movements Sasuke blocked strike after strike, every so often giving light punches in return in order to force a few to back away.

Finally, he focused on one and after side stepping a high fist he lashed out with his foot and buckled the orange clad ninja's knee before following it up with an elbow to the jaw. The clone's partner leapt at him but in a flash he caught the attacker's wrist and forearm only to whip him around and throw him into a stunned compatriot.

With both turned to smoke he smirked at the lone survivor and gestured for him to make its best attempt. Without missing a beat the clone made a hand-sign and created six more exact replicas who immediately jumped into action and attacked the defender in his stead. These clones were more successful in their attempts to overwhelm, their broad but powerful kicks and swings carefully overlapped in the hopes of keeping the Uchiha on the defensive.

He was losing ground and knew it but just as he attempted to dodge a hit and flash behind the group he felt a sharp pain in his shins as a new clone slid into them and took out his legs.

The second it happened Sasuke knew what was coming next, the eponymous Uzumaki Barrage. Three more clones appeared and each gave a kick just like it which sent him rocketing higher and higher until he was floating in the air weightless and in pain. Then the final assault body his body came as one last clone appeared above him and came at him with a rotating heel drop whilst yelling "Naruto Rendan!"

The heel never hit however, Sasuke's body instantaneously being replaced by a log amidst a cloud of smoke. Naruto's clone gasped in surprise as it realized its mistake, the Body Replacement Jutsu having worked, and he was hit in the back with a separate rotating heel drop.

The simple technique was easily replicated however, and the blonde ninja performed one of his own, this one as unsuccessful as the last. Neither shinobi could get the drop on the other it seemed, with the pair rising higher and higher as they tried to out do one another. It came to an end when Sasuke finally changed it up by performing his own rendition of the Guilotine Kick which sent the Naruto plummeting into the ground, dispersing the clone in a tuft of smoke.

The four remaining clones watched him fall slowly toward them, deciding to each summon up two more of their own clones. When they judged he was close enough four leaped up in order to trap him in a circle of knees, surprised as he flew right past them by tucking himself into a human arrow until he touched down on the ground. With both hands holding him straight he splayed his legs and spun like a top, knocking each clone in the head and sending them bursting, before rolling forward out of the way of the once more descending Naruto's. Popping up on one knee he threw two kunai from each hand and turned every one of the last remaining clones into small clouds of smoke.

"Teme!" came a familiar yell from behind the Uchiha, "This was supposed to be just taijutsu training Sasuke!"

Turning around to look at the shouting blonde he gave a seemingly disinterested smirk and brushed away a stray jet black bang. Stepping towards his childhood friend Sasuke's smirk grew into a smile.

"What shinobi goes into combat without kunai? Ninja tools will always be used in taijutsu."

"That's not what I meant!" Naruto grumbled, annoyed that he couldn't think of a better argument at the moment.

They were about to bump their fists and discuss how next to train when the sound of rustling branches came from behind the Uchiha, causing him to nearly turn and face the approaching threat before he was stopped by Naruto's hand on his shoulder. The nod Naruto gave him told Sasuke to wait, that this intruder was not a threat but rather someone he needed to talk with. So he merely stood there unmoving whilst Naruto walked toward the would be threat and asked "What's up?"

"Naruto-senpai!" came the unfamiliar voice "The Hokage asks for your presence to discuss the trip to meet with the Fire Daimyō. He also asked me to remind you about the plans for the upcoming chunin exams that you need to look over."

"Cha!" Naruto spat, his tone telling all who heard that he had completely forgotten both of his two duties. In but a few moments they discussed what he would have to do before Naruto sent the messenger away with a promise to follow soon after.

"Baka." Naruto chuckled as he turned back and looked at his old friend, who stood exactly as he had since the messengers arrival so that he couldn't have shown his face.

"Damn ANBU, Kakashi-sensei always has them popping up at the most inconvenient times."

Sasuke scoffed at that, finally loosening up and looking to his old teammate with a crooked smile. He turned to face him and they finally gave each other the fist bump that had come to be a trademark of their friendship.

"Kakashi still got you running around?" the raven haired Uchiha asked. "Seems like he's really serious about making you the Hokage by now."

"Che!" Naruto scoffed, leaning his head back in frustration. "Scarecrow's working me even harder! Plus, whenever he doesn't wanna do something or decides to disappear and go reading he makes sure it gets sent to me and just calls it 'Training'."

They shared a laugh at that as Sasuke grabbed his cloak, catching the canteen Naruto threw at him and taking a drink. When he was done he wiped the excess off on his arm before tossing it back.

"So you going to see _her_?"

"Hn." was Sasuke's quiet reply, looking toward the Leaf.

"Hehe!" the blonde ninja started as he gave a knowing grin. "Tsunade-sama'd throw a fit if she knew there was a way of sneaking into the village. Still, _she's_ always happier after your little visits. If you know what I mean."

Sasuke returned the comment with a deadly glare. Naruto flinched and raised his hands in defeat but still couldn't help but bite back a laugh at the slight blush which showed on his usually stoic friend.

"You know you don't have to sneak in anymore Sasuke. Kakashi and I made sure you were pardoned. You can just come home and stay." Naruto said, his tone turning somber.

"Not yet. You may have convinced the higher ups but not the people who matter." Sasuke sighed wistfully. "Our class may have been glad to have me returned, but to most of Konoha I'm still just a missing-nin in their bingo books. That's why I'm doing what I can with Taka, trying to help right some wrongs. In time Naruto, but not now."

Naruto watched his friend's sad expression as he said those words and while it pained him to admit it he knew Sasuke was right. Shaking his head the blonde shinobi raised a hand in goodbye before leaping up into the branches and disappearing.

The Uchiha was alone then and took the time to think on his knuckle-headed friend's words. She showed that much of a change when he was around? The internationally feared ex-criminal smirked at the thought. If only the world knew that he had been sneaking visits with the oh-so-perfect disciple of the Fifth Hokage.

In a flash he was gone, bounding through the branches with lightning speed as he made his way toward his hometown. Using the long since abandoned underground tunnels Sasuke found himself in the temple he and Orochimaru had used three years ago in order to speak with the Hokage of old.

The temple too was abandoned and so the covert twenty-year old was able to retrieve a pack he had hidden behind one of the Naka shrines, changing into the ANBU uniform he had stripped off of one of the masked agents that had tried chasing after him. Sasuke chuckled at the thought of what Kakashi had done to the poor fool when he came back with nothing but a story of how he had woken up wearing nothing but his headband and his underwear.

Pulling the red and white hawk faced mask into place he stepped out and looked upon the awe inspiring expanse where the bustling village was hidden. The mountain and the faces etched into it's surface were the same as always, timeless. The rest however, the buildings and streets, were bigger and brighter as they showed off just how new they were.

Konohagakure. How had he ever wanted to destroy this?

Yet he wasn't one for sentimentality and soon disappeared in a flash only to reappear on a rooftop yards away. Bounding from building to building he made his way through the village with ease. An ANBU racing above the busy streets was nothing to bat an eye at in Konoha.

When he neared his target though he dropped to the ground and took things a bit slower. He wanted to feel his home once more, to walk through the arteries and veins like any of the other citizens. It all felt so familiar, as if his time away wasn't real, as if this uniform he wore was his by right as one of the village's Black Ops defenders.

Passing the Ichiraku Ramen stand that he and his team had once spent so much time at he couldn't help but grin behind his mask at the site of three genin perched atop the stools. When the orange haired young girl gave a frustrated yell and swung a fist into the back of her scarf wearing teammate Sasuke actually stopped as he was hit with a sense of déjà vu.

Moving on though he continued until he found himself in front of a tall green apartment building, stopping in front of it for only a moment before he slipped inside and bound up the steps with steady even steps. It wasn't until he was standing before a pink door that he finally stopped and released the breath he didn't even realize he was holding. Taking a deep breath he knocked. Once. Twice. Three times.

"Coooming!" her cheery voice came from behind the door.

He heard gentle footsteps and stood at attention like a true ANBU as she opened the door, wearing a fresh white robe with her hair wrapped up in a towel and with what little of her bare skin that showed glistening. Her big jade eyes looked him over for a second before recognition flashed across them and she gave him an apologetic smile.

"Oh! Sorry, I was just getting out of the shower." Sakura said as she rubbed the back of her neck. "I guess Kaka-sensei wants me for something, huh? Alright, I'll get dressed and be ready in a sec."

The door began to close before he could utter a response so he stuck his hand out to stop it just before it closed. With some force he pushed it open enough to see her face once more, frozen in shock as she wondered if she was about to be in a fight. He could tell she was about to turn the door to splinters in anger so he leveled his eyes with hers and activated it. His Sharingan.

He watched with satisfaction as the once hard eyes softened and glimmered with excitement. Her grip on the door loosened and she let him swing it wide open as he stepped through the threshold.

"Sa-su-ke!" she beamed as he kicked the door shut behind him.

"I...I was just gonna head over to the Uchiha compound to meet you, but..." she continued as she looked up at his red eyes, "...you're early."

"Kakashi," Sasuke replied as he pulled off the hawk mask and dropped it to the floor, "called Naruto so he had to leave early."

They were inches apart and he saw the glee hidden behind her knowing smile, looking down at those thin pink lips as he reached his hands forward to grab the robe's belt. With deft hands he worked the knot until it came loose and the robe fell open, revealing her pale naked flesh beneath.

"Sasuke-kun..." she started before he pulled her into a tight embrace and silenced her with a tender kiss.

It wasn't long or passionate but it conveyed all it needed to, leaving her speechless once he finally broke it.

Leaning his head down so that his lips were next to her ear he whispered "Arigatou."

-

It was two hours later and the two Sannin were laying next to each other in a tangle of sweat drenched sheets, both of them naked and panting in exhaustion. They lay on their sides to look at each other and Sasuke smiled at the pink haired beauty as she ran her hand through his jet black hair.

"Where have you been?" she asked absently.

"Kakashi hasn't mentioned?"

"Yes...but I like to hear you tell me." she said with a glint of childish joy.

He looked at her and saw the sincerity of her words before saying "Takigakure. A number of high ranking missing-nin were hiding out there."

"I remember Naruto saying something about wanting to send a squad after them." Sakura mused. "Kakashi-sensei said the jurisdiction was too tricky for us to send a team."

"Taka doesn't have jurisdiction problems." he replied with his usual cocky grin.

Yet the comment wasn't as well received as he had thought it would be, her expression turning dark at the mention of his team. Taka, the most notorious group of missing-nin in the world now that the Akatsuki were destroyed. The team was at the top of every nation's bingo book due to their sheer power and elusiveness, but with the exception of Kumogakure, for obvious reasons, it was universally given a blind eye. While they still had to stay low on the Five Great Nation's radar Sasuke and his team were given a little extra breathing room as a result of their actions during the last World War, a feature which made them near mythical to the ninja world's underground.

"Hey." Sasuke started, reaching out to push a pink lock of hair behind her ear. "You know how it is. I can't return to the village just yet, so this is how I do my part. I eliminate any outlaw shinobi that might threaten Konoha. I do it to protect everyone, to protect you."

"I do know Sasuke-kun. I do." Sakura replied, her jade eyes glimmering with barely formed tears as he caressed her cheek. "It's just...you're one of them. You're a shinobi outlaw. No matter what Naruto and I do we just can't bring you back, can we?"

He interrupted her dark thoughts then by crawling across the mattress and climbing atop her, his legs straddling her sides so that she was pinned. His face was mere inches from her then and he could see that all she could focus on were his onyx eyes as they loomed over her.

"Annoying."

Their lips came together before she could respond and they simply let the kiss connecting them convey emotions too great for words. He was strong and forceful, his lips pressing against hers just hard enough to feel good, his tongue bold and unafraid to explore the delicious wetness of her mouth. She though was soft and suppliant, her lips like petals as they glided beneath his, her tongue inviting his to dance with and massage her own.

Air called to Sasuke and he broke the kiss to catch it but before he could continue she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into an iron strong hug so that he lay completely against her. Naked toned flesh against naked toned flesh. He was riddled with nicks and scars from years of revenge fueled training and battle while hers was pristine from her constant re-healing. The Strength of a Hundred Jutsu really had done wonders.

"Never mind that. What have I missed?" Sasuke finally said, breaking the silence and letting her go on about the village instead. It always calmed her.

"Well..." Sakura began, trying to think but a bit distracted by the Uchiha nuzzling into the crook of her neck. "Temari's moved here as the official ambassador of the Sand, Yamato has his own genin squad, and Kakashi-sensei finally went on a date with Ayame from Ichiraku Ramen. That's about it I think...oh! Did Naruto tell you about how he's not allowed near the Hyūga compound?"

"No." he replied whilst still kissing her neck.

"Yeah, he snuck in one night for a little of his so-called 'research', but typical Naruto fell asleep right after." Sakura explained with a couple light chuckles. "Hinabi caught them and when she told her father he nearly tore the building apart chasing after him. Can you believe that? Naruto slept over at Lee's place because he was the only person he thought could match Hiashi's taijutsu."

"Hn. Idiot." Sasuke chuckled as he kissed the soft flesh. He chuckled before suddenly stopping and pulling back enough to give her a puzzled look as he asked "Wait, what research?"

"I thought he told you. He's writing a book in order to continue the Icha Icha series in honor of Jiraiya-sama,"

"Writing?" asked Sasuke, raising an incredulous eyebrow.

"Kakashi-sensei read part of it and said it was quite good." his pink haired lover explained with a smirk. "He said it's gonna be one of the series' best. I guess all that pervy behavior is gonna get worse now that he has a reason for it."

The Uchiha scoffed at that as he tried to imagine how the guy with the worst score on the written exams in their year could possibly write a book that could excite their bookworm of a sensei. Then again he and everyone else had said that about him becoming Hokage and yet now that loud mouthed dope was next in line for the seat. Who knew?

"Is it really that good?"

"Seems so. Sai was complaining about sensei pawning off his Hokage duties to go hide away and read Naruto's handwritten drafts. Couldn't shut him up about how annoying it was really." said Sakura before she asked, "Why? Getting jealous of your rival Sasuke-kun?"

"Hmph!" was his only reply. "Wait? That Sai bastard 'couldn't shut up'?"

"Yep." Sakura assured him, leaning in close to land a peck on his lips. She loved this, the way he'd pretend to not care whilst she caught him up on his old home and comrades, even though he listened to every word. She wondered if he believed the act himself. "He's really opened up lately, talking more and hanging out with everyone. A lot less socially awkward too. Ino says they're because of the oral lessons she's making him practice."

Sakura wasn't the only pink person in the bed now as Sasuke's cheeks flushed with embarrassment at the implications of her words. She seized the moment to flip him onto his back, not so subtly using a bit of her enhanced strength, before she straddled his chest and loomed over him with her own rendition of a power hungry grin. Looking up at her as she did this, took control, the Uchiha couldn't help but surrender as he was overwhelmed with love. No longer was she the annoying genin who blushed at his every look and who hung on each word, this was a woman who knew what she wanted and took it by any means necessary.

"So I was thinking," said Sakura with a sultry voice as she ran a finger down the scar on Sasuke's chest, the one that had been made by Madara, "how about we start some practice of our own."

"Hn. " came his reply, laughing to himself about how he'd once been nervous of being too demanding of her. He figured this would be the right time to tease her a bit so he muttered "I don't know if I have the stamina."

"Oh no you don't Uchiha! I won't listen to stamina excuses from the shinobi who can go toe to toe with jinchūriki." she growled, her face easy and loving while her voice was reminiscent of an angry Tsunade. It lightened up though as she teased back "Uh uh, you're not getting out of this. I'll go get you something to restore some of those calories. An apple good?"

"My favorite." he replied with a grin, remembering how she used to feed them to him in the hospital.

In seconds she swung her legs up over him and padded her way across the floor boards as she headed off toward the kitchen. He watched her leave and focused his gaze at her powerful legs before letting it rise up past the dimples of her perfect cheeks until it rested on the cherry blossom locks. She knew how much he liked long hair and had been growing it out so that now it came a stop just below her shoulder blades.

The way she walked, smooth and slow, was hypnotic and he was tempted to use his Sharingan just to memorize it until the next time he might see it again. Then she was gone around the corner and he simply tucked his arm beneath her head and rested it, closing his eyes in order to take in all of the comfort and peace this place provided instead of the usual camps and inns.

Sakura smirked as she felt his gaze linger after her, turning the corner quickly in the hopes that he might not see the blush on her cheeks. All these years and he still made her feel like a genin, she wondered how he did it. It was her place and she walked around it in one state of undress or another all the time, so why was this any different?

Then she saw the pool of white cotton which lay on the floor.

"Shannaro!" she cried "I can't believe I just left that there!"

Rushing over the pink haired kunoichi snatched it up and threw it over her shoulder, let out a huff of relief, and wandered toward the kitchen whilst scolding herself for being so careless.

With a bright red apple in one hand and a knife in the other she made her way back toward the room lazily. Her verbal self-abuse continued but it was nowhere near what Inner Sakura used to say. Besides, Tsunade-shishou said it was good for her to vent her frustration in a way other than punching Naruto every once and a while.

"Alright Sasuke-kun, the doctor says it's time I give you a snack!" Sakura purred in her best seductive voice as she posed for him in the doorway.

"How about I feed you thi-" she started before being interrupted by a knock at her front door. She rolled her eyes and sighed "Its probably Ino asking if I want to get some tea. I'll just go tell her tomorrow."

"Hn." was Sasuke's only reply as he rolled onto his back, as if no longer interested.

Sakura rolled her eyes at the dispassionate display and lazily threw the apple at him before turning on her heels and making for the door. With a flourish the robe was pulled over her shoulders and it's flimsy belt tied in an instant.

As she headed toward the door she started thinking about what she would say to Ino, what excuse she would use to postpone their plans. She certainly couldn't tell her that Sasuke was waiting back in the room. Her rival would never betray her, of course, but telling anyone about her secret would only get them in trouble should something go wrong. Should the Five Great Nations find out.

Yet when she opened the door there was no blonde Yamanaka in the hall waiting for her. There was no warm smiling face of her best friend. Instead there was a white porcelain mask, purple markings painted on so that it looked like an emotionless raccoon.

"Haruno Sakura." the masked figure replied in a flat tone, a statement more than a question. "The Fifth requests your presence for an important mission. I'm to escort you immediately."

"I have to get dressed!" Sakura blurted angrily, tucking the top of her robe closer together to emphasize her point.

"Ah! Yes, that is, of course" the ANBU replied nervously, even stepping back a little once considering who her sensei was.

Hearing the reply she had wanted the pink haired kunoichi smiled and suddenly slammed the door shut before scoffing and turning to head back to her room.

"Damn Tsunade-sensei! She's retired and yet she still interrupts my days off with some kind of work or training. You'd think that if surviving a World War wasn't enough all of my clinic hours would be." she grumbled to herself as she made her third consecutive trip down the hall.

Turning into the doorway she said "I'm sorry Sasuke-kun bu-"

However, when she looked into the room all she saw was an empty bed. No longer was her raven haired lover laying there waiting for her, instead it was as if all evidence of his presence had simply vanished. While a part of her was initially somewhat surprised there was another at this point that had simply accepted it as yet another of the Uchiha's infamous disappearing acts. He had known that she would have to go and in his mind it was simpler this way, leaving her with nothing but an open window to let in the draft which would take his scent away with him.

Just as Sakura was about to turn and begin to go prepare for her meeting with Lady Tsunade she stopped and saw something which she could not help but smile at.

Sitting on her dresser was the apple with a single bite taken out of it.


	2. Chapter 2

Sasuke Uchiha sat cross legged on a tatami mat in the middle of a sparsely furnished room sipping at his green tea. He placed the still steaming cup on the low table in front of him before looking to the comrades on his left and right, studying them with the calculating precision of a team captain rather than a friend. They had been working together for years and each battle, each saving of one another's life, had brought them closer together than most ninja squads. They were all each other had, after all. Still, it was in these quiet moments before an operation which were vital to its success and Sasuke needed to be sure of even the slightest changes.

Jūgo sat on his own tatami mat with his legs crossed as well and his palms cupping his knees, eyes closed and completely relaxed despite the number of small birds that used him as their perch. His orange hair had grown longer and he was looking more rugged than he had all those years ago, but he always looked younger whilst meditating. The time with the shinobi monks at the rebuilt Fire Temple had done him good and this meditation which they had taught him all but erased his violent outbursts. He had not needed Sasuke's Sharingan to pacify him in over a year.

A smile graced the Uchiha's lips for a second before he turned his attention elsewhere.

Karin meanwhile lay on her side with her head resting on her arm and her red eyes half closed as she studied him dreamily. The years had made her more feminine and she knew it, changing her outfit into a more provocative two piece number which showed off a sizable portion of stomach as well as almost all of her legs. She had lessened her fanatical advances on him ever since his past betrayal, yet even to this day she would fawn over him and flash him as much of her exposed flesh as possible. Though she had especially not liked it when she found out about him and Sakura, even going so far as pummeling Suigetsu as a means to express her jealousy, she had come to begrudgingly accept it by now. Instead she had turned her attention to practicing her taijutsu enough to participate in combat alongside the rest of the team.

Sasuke was about to ask her why she was staring at him when a noise came from the room's only window, causing him to look up.

Suigetsu stood with one foot on the edge of the window sill and smiled down at his teammates. All and all Suigetsu was exactly the same as he had been during the war with the only difference being greater definition in his shoulders and arms as a result of his continued use of the Kubikiribōchō. The Executioner's Blade, back to its full length, was strapped across his back along with the dual Kiba swords which he had tied to each side of his hips. They were a recent acquisition after the war and he had become as expertly adept with them as his long lost brother; a fact the Kirigakure missing-nin brought up every chance he had.

"Oi, asshole." the white-haired swordsman called with a mischievous grin. "They're there now. I get to kill the muscle head though, bastard stepped right on my face."

"How many are there?" Sasuke asked coolly, his tone all business as he tried to plan out what would come next.

"Three of them went in but they made it sound like there were a bunch more inside. Apparently the boss heard we were in town and got a little nervous. Geez, you won't believe what people say when they think only puddles 're around to hear 'em."

The sound of Suigetsu's voice hung in the air as the Uchiha let the information sink in. Without a further word he pushed himself up, slipped the sword between his belt, and moved to the window where he hopped up onto the sill. He looked to the right at his ivory haired companion, nodded, and his form flickered as he disappeared out into the bustling city.

The pace was non-stop until their destination was reached, the entirety of Team Taka perched atop the billowing metal chimneys of a residence two blocks away from the targeted building. It was decrepit on the outside and few would have guessed it had been the towns largest textile factory back in days long passed, but rumor had it that over the past year it had become the region's headquarters for the black market. They ran everything from bounty collection to weapon smuggling out of these places, the most notable of which being the hiring of especially deadly missing-nin as either body guards or assassins.

It was for this reason that Taka had been staking out this particular location for weeks. Rumor had it that Kenichi Yamaguchi, the local black market boss, was looking to hire some major muscle and had come across a pair of A-ranked ROOT members whom had gone renegade upon hearing of Danzo's demise.

"Why's there only one guard?" Jūgo asked.

"There are four more just inside, guarding a second door." Karin responded, her eyes closed as she studied the hidden chakra signatures. "They have eighteen more inside. Two of them are pretty strong, their chakra is cold."

"That's them." answered Sasuke.

He leapt forward then, silently alighting from the building and heading toward the unsuspecting guard with enough speed to overwhelm the senses. It worked as he had planned and within seconds he landed on the old factory's chimney before the guard had so much as an idea of what was approaching from above.

The guard was big and his arms rippled with the kind of muscle which was meant to flaunt his strength. A junk yard dog meant to scare off any passerby's. Sasuke regarded him with as little worry as he would a real mutt.

He dropped down to a section of the roof just out of the man's periphery and let the muscle bound fool hear him. When the guard turned to check out the noise he was met with the crimson gaze of a fully matured Sharingan, his body paralyzed as the three spinning tomoe in each eye cast a genjutsu strong enough to take complete control of his actions.

The rest of the team appeared then and watched as the man began sweating from the sheer effort of trying to fight his way free.

"Yeesh," Suigetsu groaned, "still creeps me out when you do that. Just kill 'em, don't use 'em like puppets."

"He'll get us in to the second door quietly. After that we can be as loud as we need to."

"Whatever," Suigetsu sighed as he pulled the two needle thin blades from his sides, "I don't give a shit so long as I can make 'em bleed."

While the other members of the team were not so cavalier about the action to come they certainly prepared themselves, with Jūgo's Cursed Mark spreading to cover his entire right side and Karin readying a kunai and falling into a combat stance.

With a look from Sasuke the hulking guard took jerking steps toward the building's door and shakily unlocked it before walking through and into the long narrow hall. Each step sounded loudly as his muscles were guided by sheer dominating will rather than the finesse of the bodies actual owner. The result was an overly stiff and loud walking which raised the attention of the four guards who leaned on the walls closest to the inner door.

"Hey, Jin, what're ya doin'?" the closest one called as he pushed himself off the wall and looked to his colleague "Shift change isn't in another hour. Gotta piss or something?"

The controlled guard, Jin apparently, said nothing but simply kept his steady unnatural pace. The silence seemed to unnerve his comrades, each one moving forward with the stilted pace that betrayed their nervousness.

"Hey, big guy. What's the deal?" the closest asked again, taking a toothpick from his mouth as he eyed his friend. "There anything to worry abo-"

He didn't get to finish the sentence before a high pitched chirping was heard and a thin blade of pure electricity suddenly shot through Jin's muscled torso and pierced his own chest.

The other guards were still processing what they had just seen, that they were under attack, when Suigetsu leapt out from behind the dead muscular thug and flashed them a pointed tooth smile. It was the last thing they each saw before he sliced through them with quick and deadly precise cuts from his two new blades. The only sound in the hall was the wet thuds of their collapsing corpses.

Sasuke and the rest of Taka approached, deftly stepping around the growing puddles of blood, and stopped just shy of the door where Suigetsu's stood.

"The last guy had the keys." the Mist nin said, twirling the ring holding the keys around the point of his blade as if he were a bored child.

"No need." Sasuke replied without so much as a glance. Instead he stepped to the side, looked to Jūgo, and gave a nod.

The orange haired shinobi returned the nod before he squared himself with the door, took in a deep breath, and wound his arm back as if to punch through the thick metal. Without so much as a grimace the man's arm began to shift beneath the shirt that surrounded it, contorting itself into an enormous grotesque version of what it it had just been. The protrusions from its elbow had broken through the fabric and now glowed as they worked like chakra fueled jets to propel the massive fist into the door with enough force to send it rocketing off its hinges in a cloud of dust.

The four man team was a blur as it leapt into the awaiting room. Screams followed.

-

The room had been luxurious. A fully stocked bar lined an entire wall, two pool tables had occupied the center, and leather couches were scattered throughout. It was obviously meant to convey wealth and power, to impress guests into respecting the authority of its owner.

That was impossible now.

Now the room was covered in the blood of the eighteen bodies that had fallen haphazardly around the floors, couches, and tables. Craters and embedded ninja weapons betrayed the miniature battle that had gone on within these walls, with an enormous black scorch mark giving testament to a particularly powerful katon jutsu.

The only people standing were members of Taka, each one performing their own routine after a mission such as this. Jūgo sat in the cleanest of corners working through a mediation in order to prevent any resurgence of his manic bloodlust. Suigetsu was in the farthest corner, out of sight, as he let out his more sadistic urges by hacking away at a few lifeless corpses. Karin was studying the many scrolls and ledgers on the hideout's shelves, seemingly in her own world as she read through each scrap of paper for information Sasuke might deem valuable. The raven haired Uchiha meanwhile, was busy getting information from the source by using his Sharingan on Yamaguchi himself.

"Why were you trying to hire ex-ROOT?" Sasuke enquired, his voice hard but hinting at just how little he cared about killing the gangster.

Yamaguchi's eyes were wide and bounced feverishly in their sockets, the combination of pain and terror and genjutsu doing nothing but overwhelming his mind. Sasuke was about to simply rip the information from his mind all together when Karin suddenly called to him.

"What?" he growled in annoyance.

"This video was filed with a letter from two weeks ago." Karin explained, holding out a VHS tape. "I think this is why he was looking for extra muscle. Sasuke...you'll want to see this."

-

"What is this about Kakashi-sensei?!" Naruto shouted.

"ANBU brought me the intel a week ago and the Intelligence Division confirmed it yesterday, which is why I bring it up now." Kakashi started as he stared across the Hokage desk at his predecessor, his soon to be successor, Yamato, and Sai. "The information I'm about to tell you all is highly classified and I'm only telling you because I know it is better you hear it from me than from anyone else."

"Wait a minute..." Tsunade exclaimed and she looked around at the occupants in the room. I suddenly open shot and she can be gasp and she realize the one common factor between them all. "You can't mean this is about-"

"Yes. It seems that whilst on her mission S-"

"Hokage-sama!" a chunin shouted as he burst into the room without warning. "An unidentified flying object heading in this direction with great speed! We're worried this might be an attack on you sir. Please get down!"

Everyone in the office, each a high class shinobi, turned to look out the window in preparation rather than simply run. There they saw what the chunin warned of, a large bird shaped object making a direct and speedy course for the Hokage mansion at an altitude that made their defenses useless.

"Is it another attack from the Sky Nation?" Sai asked.

"Or something like Deidara's attack on Gaara?!" Naruto asked.

Kakashi wasted no time and activated his Sharingan in order to better study the fast moving target.

"No it's a giant hawk..." he explained, only guessing what that could mean. Nothing good.

Just as he was about to way the odds of whether or not his assumption was correct the hawk seemed to dive directly at the window he was looking through. Yet before he could even react to whatever threat this might pose it burst into a cloud of smoke, from which a shadow shot forth like a thrown kunai with the added speed of a directed free fall.

Kakashi's Sharingan tracked it and he groaned "Oh no."

The free falling blur was about to impact with the window when suddenly it vanished, only to be replaced by a tiny bright blue book, which hung in the air for but a second before it plummeted to the ground.

Kakashi turned to see a very upset looking Uchiha perched atop his desk where the book had previously sat. His purple left eye stood out starkly from behind his bangs and as he hopped off the desk he completely ignored the angry and confused stares which followed him, with the exception of his smiling blonde friend.

"Where is she?" Sasuke growled as he turned on his former sensei.

"Well hello Sasuke. I believe I warned you against rash actions such as these."

"I don't have ti-"

"Make time." Kakashi cut in, his voice hard as his eyes narrowed. "We're all worried about her Sasuke, your anger will not change a thing. We need to establish a plan."

Naruto stepped forward to interject himself between his fellow members of Team 7, eyes jumping back and forth between them. "Hold on! What's going on?"

"Sakura." Tsunade shot in, understanding the situation better than the head forward younger ninja. Her eyes were soft with worry but the popping of her knuckles as she balled her fists betrayed her fury as she said "Something's happened to her. Where is she Kakashi?"

Kakashi shifted his gaze to his blonde predecessor for the first time since his pupil's sudden entrance. Sighing in defeat he said "Our last contact with her was while she was on a mission to Amegakure. As you know the Hidden Rain suffered heavily immediately after the war, the combination of lack of leadership with the death of Pain and the reparations demanded by many of the other nations. We've been offering aid in the form of diplomatic and medical advisors to try and revitalize their infrastructure. Sakura, as our chief medical shinobi, was sent with a number of supplies and fellow medics in order to teach at their hospital as well as gain intelligence on the state of the village's recovery. She was supposed to return a week ago."

"WHAT?!" Naruto shouted, at once made equally furious and scared by Sakura's apparent capture. "How could this happen Kakashi-sensei?"

"Indeed." Sasuke hissed. "Why would you send Sakura of all people into an enemy village?"

"She's not a helpless girl to be protected." Tsunade shot back, staring the Uchiha down. She knew of the bond between Sasuke and Sakura, where his concern was coming from, but still refused to let anyone talk about her apprentice like that. "Sakura's my pupil and one of the finest kunoichi I've ever known. There's no way she'd go down without a fight."

"Exactly. For Sakura to go missing like this there was either treachery on the part of Amegakure's new Kage or there's a very formidable unknown player." Kakashi cut in as he opened a drawer and retrieved a file which he opened before laying it out on the desk. "We believe it's this man, Hei Shineki. ANBU's intelligence has turned up little other than that he was a higher up in Amegakure's hierarchy under Pain and has since become something of a boss in the village's underground. We assume he's not too dangerous since he wasn't deemed worthy of Akatsuki membership, but at the same time we know too little to rule him out."

"It's him." Sasuke affirmed suddenly as he looked at the shadowy picture clipped to the file.

The entire room turned to look at the raven haired missing-nin, wondering how he could speak with such certainty.

"Sasu-"

"Before coming here I found intelligence on a black market safe house. In there was a VHS message inviting the recipient to participate in a tournament in which the prize was a prisoner with high value intelligence on Konoha. The speaker introduced himself as this Shineki before showing Sakura in some sort of coma. The only reason I came here is to get a location on this trash before I hunt him down."

"Teme!" Naruto shouted back. "You think you're just gonna go in and get her all by yourself? She's my teammate too Sasuke. And she's a shinobi of Konoha, we'll rescue her with you!"

"No." Sasuke said dryly, his onyx eyes betraying no hint of emotion. "The man on this video, Shineki, said he'll be looking out for shinobi from any of the major villages. Unless the participants all have reputations as notorious criminals he'll kill them, her, and scatter the operation. I go alone."

"That's ridiculous! We've run undercover operations before and gotten away cle-"

"Not with Sakura!" Sasuke growled, his eyes turning red and purple from unconsciously activating his respective Sharingan and Rinnegan.

Kakashi broke the ensuing silence by saying "I don't like it...But it makes sense. This man's a former subordinate of the leader of Akatsuki. He wouldn't trust anybody that wasn't in a bingo book. Sasuke may have been pardoned but he hasn't worked a single mission for the village since, they might still think he's an outlaw shinobi. You think you can sell it?"

Sasuke looked back to his former teacher and for the first time since arriving cracked a cocky smirk as he said "Hn."

Tsunade shook her blonde head and muttered a hushed "Damn Uchiha" before nodding her agreement.

Only Naruto refused to agree, but assented when Kakashi assured him that he would be leading one of the teams they would have positioned around the village's interior as a precaution.

"The video said to arrive three days from now. My team and I will go in alone, you and your formations should show up the next day so we don't seem coordinating together if your caught. I'll have Jūgo handle communications if anything goes wrong." Sasuke said, taking charge of the operation despite his lack of authority.

Kakashi was about to remind him of that fact when Sasuke suddenly burst into a cloud of smoke and was gone. Looking at the space where his former student had previously stood he said "Reverse summoning. Seems like Taka's already on the move."

"Of course he wouldn't wait for the village." Tsunade sighed, still not used to the impetuous ways of Kakashi's team. "I'll go help assemble the teams. I'm sure you know that I'll be leading one of them."

"Ya me too!" the other blonde ninja chimed in.

"Yes, I figured that would be the case." Kakashi sighed before they left. It was on days like this he missed being a jonin.

Looking down at his desk the white haired Hokage groaned when he remembered just how Sasuke had gotten in. "I'm gonna need Naruto to give me another copy of his book."

-

The constant rain of Amegakure was like a white noise that drowned out the noise of the overly industrialized city for number of smaller neighbors. Even the lights that dotted its skyscraper horizon seemed to be dampened by the torrential downpour it's ever present storm produced, making it truly hidden within the rainfall. In the days of Pain's complete control the rain had acted as an extra alarm to make infiltration all but impossible should anyone bypass their already impeccable security. Nowadays, however, the city was forced to rely upon its more conventional measures to prevent intruders.

Yet, none of these went off as a large purple snake undulated its way through the lake that surrounded the city. It's size was just large enough to fight the current but just small enough to avoid detection and met no resistance as it made its way into the drainage system and slithered into the city's bowels.

In the depths of the sewer system the purple serpent found a large enough platform to suddenly crack open its skin and pull itself free from the dead epidermis. However, the reborn snake which spilled forth was more than five times larger than the molted skin it came from, curling upon itself until what came free was an enormous reptile the size of a small house. It gave a loud hiss before opening its mouth, a popping sound emitting from it as it's jaws dislocated and widened even further. Laying it's chin on the ground it let out a lower more subdued his.

Out from its pitch black throat walked Sasuke Uchiha and the rest of Taka's members, each of their eyes roaming there surroundings for threats as they filed out from the serpent.

Sasuke gave the area a final sweep with his Sharingan before saying "We're in."


	3. Chapter 3

"We're in."

Taka spread out across the room, securing it against an attack more out of reflex than actual worry of a threat. They all glanced to Karin as she closed her eyes and extended her senses for any trace of chakra but quickly nodded that they were in the clear.

"Well done Inro. You may go." Sasuke said, looking back to the snake and giving it a nod. The serpent, Inro, seemed to return the gesture before disappearing in a burst of smoke.

"Glagh! I hate it when we travel in that thing." Suigetsu spat, scowling in the direction of their long gone transport. "Remind me why I couldn't use my water form to get in here and just summon you guys?"

"Don't you listen to anything Sasuke-kun says? They have alarm jutsu set up to detect any summonings inside the city." Karin lectured. "Dumbass!"

"It doesn't matter now." Sasuke cut in as he looked to Suigetsu. "Use the liquid form to explore the drainage system, investigate where in this city's underground he may be hiding. Jūgo, communicate with the city's animals to get any intel you can on newcomers and their whereabouts. Karin and I will look for any notable chakra levels and follow them. Report to me in an hour."

He watched as the two disappeared so as to carry out their orders, Suigetsu melting away into one of the drains and Jūgo walking toward the shadows in search of the rats who would know the city best.

Karin meanwhile was fixing her glasses in an attempt to mask the slight blush that had begun to form on her cheeks. It was most likely because they were alone together, her old habits never having quite left, but she kept her emotions in check and simply waited for him to lead the way. He gave her a nod and an all but imperceptible smirk before walking forward toward one of the large open pipes that he assumed would eventually lead him up to the surface.

Deep within the bowels of Amegakure was an empty room the size of a large auditorium, each sound within causing an echo reverberated throughout the empty space. In the center of the room was circular hole in the floor that was approximately fifty feet wide and nearly a hundred feet deep.

Atop this hole in the ground stood sixteen figures, eight standing at the lip while the retainers directly behind them made up the rest.

Standing at the opposite edge of the gap was a single man, garbed from the neck down in bandages while the lower portion of his face was covered with a peculiar gas mask. Unlike those typically worn by shinobi of Amegakure this mask was almost entirely made of polished black leather and rather than a large round filter it was streamlined to appear flat. Most disturbing, however, was the white and red shark teeth crudely painted across the front so as to imply a constant hungry smile that worked well to unnerve all who saw it.

"It seems that my messages were well received." Hei Shineki spoke, his voice low and friendly though it betrayed the potential to become booming. "Welcome. It's rare to find so many of my fellow high ranking criminals in one place, let alone eight of the most notorious leaders in the underground. In fa-"

A scoff came from one of the eight standing at the edge. He was a short aging man who stood at nearly half the height of his retainer, and yet, exuded power with his all black three piece suit and pure white scarf. Atop the gangster's head sat a black fedora which he tilted back to reveal the jagged scar etched across his forehead.

"You find something funny Boss Tanaka?" Shineki asked, cocking his head in curiosity.

"Yes, yes I do." replied Boss Tanaka. "Your 'God' Pain, that psychotic fuck, we could respect. We could fear. But you? You're a very small player trying to fill a very large power vacuum. Were it not for the value of the prize you hold I would have you killed for thinking yourself my equal."

Shineki closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he cracked his neck audibly. Opening his eyes once more he began to unravel the bandages on his hands to reveal ominous swirl pattern tattoos on each palm.

"It's a shame you think that way Tanaka. Before, I'd just take your money and wish you're representative the best of luck in my little tournament. But now, well, I'll have to kill you."

"Impudent bastard!"

The retainer behind Tanaka, a lithe young man with long crimson hair tied in a ponytail, moved with a sudden speed to place himself between his boss and Shineki. In a single motion he pulled back his sleeve to reveal a custom arm bracer, the bottom of which held a small novel, and brought it up in a high arc to point directly at their threatening host.

BOOM!

All motion in the room stopped as it's occupants turned to see one of the doorways they had come in from covered in ash, smoldering flames, and a few steaming corpses from what was left of Shineki's guards.

"Katon jutsu. A damn strong one." one of the other guests surmised.

Footsteps could now be heard coming from the singed doorway, the echoes betraying their owner's steady and deliberate pace.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu. One of my clan's favorites." came the cold reply from within the shadowed hallway.

Sasuke walked out from the darkness of the confined space as though he were taking a nightly stroll, stepping over rocks or dead guards as if they were not even there. He walked through the main hall without changing pace or looking around for other threats. Instead his gaze was set upon the bandage covered man who had called everyone else here, unflinching onyx eyes boring into Amegakure shinobi.

"Sasuke Uchiha." called Shineki, his cracking his neck again once more. "I must say, this is a most welcome surprise. Though, I'll admit, your arrival was an expected outcome considering what's currently in my possession."

"Hei Shineki." responded Sasuke as he stopped just shy of the other guests, all of whom were facing him rather than their host. "You have something of mine. Something I hold dear. I do not allow such insults to go unpunished so hand her over to me before I must take her."

Silence filled the room as its occupants processed the Uchiha's hate filled words. Laughter suddenly spilled forth from behind Shineki's gas mask and his body trembled from the force of it.

"_Take _her? No, no, no, no that's not how this works. Everyone _pays_ me an entry fee, _fights_ in my tournament, and then I _give_ her to the winner. That's what will happen and you, Konoha scum, will do nothing to change it."

"I am an internationally wanted criminal. I have killed three members of Akatsuki, subdued Jinchūriki, attacked the five Kage in the heart of the Land of Iron, killed a Kage, and defeated a god. I am no less an outlaw than any of you, and will gladly kill all who challenge that fact."

Looking at the faces he was glad to find that many held fear plainly written in their features. A few, however, boldly wore expressions of defiance and challenge that told Sasuke they were not intimidated and would not hesitate to attack should the opportunity arise.

_Interesting._

"Will you be so bold against twelve S-Ranked missing nin? You may be formidable, but there's a reason I made this a tournament of the strongest shinobi outlaws. Anyone, even a Kage, would a fool to threaten all of us." Shineki lectured amusedly.

Sasuke closed his eyes and thought for a minute, deciding whether or not to summon up Susanoo and release his full wrath upon them.

"Besides," Shineki added, "cherry blossoms are so delicate. Too strong a tremor and they'll just fall right off the tree."

Sasuke's eyes opened then and he focused his mismatched eyes at them man in a death glare.

Yet, his hand reached within his cloak and pulled free a scroll which he tossed across the gap to land next to the bandaged ringleader's feet. As it fell it unravelled to reveal a seal that burst into a cloud of smoke to reveal an overstuffed duffel bag.

"Ten million ryō, as you said in the video."

Shineki never even looked at the bag, keeping his gaze on the Uchiha as he simply snapped his fingers and an underling flickered in from nowhere to lean down and check it's contents.

"Looks good."

"What a shame you came too late then." Shineki spoke up. "I'll gladly accept your money, but you see, I already have eight participants and nine just will not work. So you'll simp-"

Before the cocky ringleader could finish Sasuke raised a hand, pointed it at one of the more frightened retainers, and without warning shot forth a concentrated spear of electricity. The Chidori Sharp Spear pierced the man, a tall muscular shinobi covered in tattoos, through the chest just between the lungs. As the shocked man gasped in horror and began choking out exclamations of fear Sasuke silenced him with the turn of his wrist that altered the spear's shape and caused five more to spring forth from inside his chest.

Releasing the jutsu the corpse fell to the floor and blood pooled beneath it while the room looked on in dumb surprise.

"I believe there's an opening."

Sasuke sat atop a tatami mat in front of the table which occupied the center of his new sitting room. It was the largest room in this brand new suite he and the rest of the participants had been given to stay in over the next two days. The building that housed their rooms was a skyscraper in its own right, but was made even larger upon knowledge of the spaces beneath. It was in the largest of those spaces that their meeting had been held in and it surprised many of the guests to find they were an elevator ride from opulent luxury.

Sasuke, however, could not stand this room. The bright colors, soft cushions, sweet fragrances. They were all distracting and meant to make one far too relaxed before a battle to the death. Besides, they reminded him of her.

He was brought forth from his brooding by a gentle knock at the door.

"Come in." he called, hearing the door open and soft footsteps as someone entered the room.

Sasuke did not look up at the visitor until she walked around him to stand across the table from him. Looking her over he noticed that she was almost as tall as him, her long jet black hair was held back by a clip, wore blood red lipstick, and had an elegant pink kimono wrapped around her ample curves. She was beautiful and only slightly older than him, exuding a mature sexuality that was unrivaled by any other woman Sasuke had ever met.

"My name is Hotaru." she said, her voice like honey. "Boss Shineki sent me to deliver your meal."

It was then Sasuke looked to the tray in her hands as she dropped to her knees and gently placed it atop the table.

"I brought the onigiri you ordered. I wasn't sure what type of filling you liked so I brought you one order with okaka, one order with tobiko, and my favorite one order with ume-" Hotaru started when she saw the scowl that crossed the silent young man's face at the mention of the sweet fruit. "I-I also brought the sliced tomatoes and green tea you ordered."

"Hn." Sasuke responded, nodding his thanks before turning his gaze the bottle that stood above the other items.

"Oh, and this," Hotaru purred with renewed confidence as she picked up the bottle seductively, "is our finest sake. I took the liberty of bringing it since the boss said I should do anything to make sure you were happy. Anything."

Sasuke reached one hand forward and took the chopsticks in hand in order to snag a slice of tomato and pop it in his mouth. Hotaru looked at him, unsure of whether to feel slighted or frightened at his silence. After all, every one of the new guests were dangerous criminals.

"Open the doors." Sasuke said as he reached out for one of the okaka filled onigiri.

"P-Pardon?"

"The balcony doors." Sasuke said before taking a bite of the rice ball. Swallowing, he pointed behind her with the chopsticks and continued "Open them."

"Oh. I see." Hotaru said, regaining her confidence as she got up and walked over to the balcony. Opening the doors she was met be nothing more than an empty balcony being pelted by rain, which had formed a large puddle.

"It's still raining quite hard. Are you su-" she started before seeing that the raven haired young man was ignoring her whilst eating his meal.

Moving closer she sat next to Sasuke and leaned close to him in order to flirtatiously whisper "We can open this bottle, get comfortable, and you can show me the famous Uchiha Fire..."

"Leave."

Hotaru froze as the word all but slapped her in the face. It was not particularly cruel or harsh, but rather it was the cold emotionless way in which he said it that shook her. As if she meant literally nothing.

Getting up she wordlessly gathered what she needed to return before making her way to the front door. Looking back toward the last Uchiha in the world she wondered how someone so beautiful could be so cruel.

Sasuke ate while he heard her leave, waited to make sure she or anyone else wasn't eavesdropping, and called "It's clear. Come in."

The puddle on the balcony rippled before the water shot up and formed itself into a roughly human shape which then settled into a grinning Suigetsu.

"I love this city." Suigetsu exclaimed before walking in, puddles forming with each step.

Two more hooded figures landed on the balcony and followed the white haired swordsmen into the suite. Pulling off their hoods they revealed themselves to be Karin and Jūgo, the orange haired man in a far more pleasant mood than his red haired counterpart.

"Who was that skank?" Karin asked, though it came out as more of a growl. "Can you believe her? I mean her perfume was nice but, c'mon. Slut!"

"At least she has more to offer than yo-" Suigetsu spoke up before Karin's fist turned is water into a splash of water.

"C'mon you two. We need to tell Sasuke what we know." Jūgo cut in as he stood between them and put a hand on each shoulder.

That calmed the two antagonistic ninja down as they sat around the table with Sasuke. Suigetsu reached over for the sake and opened the bottle before taking a long swig, provoking another attack from the excitable redhead. She in turn took one of the fruit filled rice balls and took slow dainty bites as she looked over her obsession's brooding features.

"What do we know?" Sasuke asked as he looked at each of them.

"Konoha's files are shit." Suigetsu exclaimed before taking another sip. "Ah! They seriously underestimated this guy's man power. This entire building is run by his ex-Ame nin lackies. Seems like he's buying up support left and right, which would explain why he's trying to have everyone throw in a minimum rather than a simple auction."

"Makes sense." Karin nodded. "The chakra signatures all throughout this building are chunin or higher. Except for the others on this and the next two levels. They're definitely near Kage level, especially this Shineki and one of the other participants."

"The animals do not like the leader's chakra. It's...chaotic." Jūgo affirmed wistfully.

"I know the second one. But it ain't good new." said Suigetsu with a sneer. "He's a legend amongst swordsmen. Mugen Miyamoto, he's one of the finest samurai the Land of Iron ever produced. He was Mifune's teacher and is said to have mastered the use of shape transformation and nature affinity chakra in his sword technique."

"Like Naruto's Rasenshuriken?" Karin asked incredulously. "I don't like the sound of that Sasuke-kun."

"It'll be fine. I've sparred with Naruto enough to know how to handle the sheer power of such techniques." Sasuke reassured. "More importantly...where is she?"

The three looked back and forth between each other.

"Shineki showed us participants a video of her bound in this...this chair, With...hospital tubes coming out of her arms." Sasuke started, his voice seeming to hold back a boiling rage. "We need to save Sakura."

"Sasuke, the birds say they've seen a lot of activity on the top floor." Jūgo replied cautiously.

"I can't sense her chakra anywhere in this building." Karin said with a shake of her head.

"Face it Sasuke. You're gonna have to do what he wants until you find out where she is." Suigetsu added in.

The Uchiha sighed in frustration and thanked them for their help. They left without leaving a trace of ever having been in the suite. Yet, when they were gone he felt a disturbing feeling that had been absent in his life for a while. Loneliness.

Sasuke shook his head in order to dispel such thoughts. Now was not the time for weakness. Now was the time for preparation.

"Sir." Hotaru reported, bowing to her master's back. "He was unresponsive to my advances. I'm so very sorry for my failure."

Shineki turned to look at her and she began to panic as his mask made him seem eternally angry. He reached a hand out towards her, causing her heart to nearly stop, until he simply pet her cheek instead.

"It's alright. I expected as much. I've heard rumors on just how devoted the Uchiha can become." Shineki explained as he patted her cheek reassuringly.

"T-To whom? Who could he be so devoted to?" she asked, unsure as to why she was afraid of the answer.

Cocking his head to the side like a bird once more, his eyes crinkled at the edges as if in laughter.

"Why, her of course." he said as he moved so she could see behind him. "His delicate little cherry blossom. And of course-"

Hotaru gasped when she looked upon the pink haired girl bound to the chair, the metal bands that held her in place tight enough to bruise. IVs we're running from her arms and pumped in a steady supply of whatever kept her unconscious. More disturbing, however, was the visible bump on what would otherwise be a flat stomach.

"-his heir."

**So here's Chapter 3! Sorry if it's a bit short and bereft of action but everything needs setup so I made sure it was only in this chapter. Next chapter the fights begin, I promise. The review are a big help and I'd love to hear any thoughts or tips you guys might have. **


End file.
